Infected
by Ryuuzaki Kusakurin
Summary: .hack//G.U. After a fight with Ryou, Kaoru does the only thing he knows to do - he runs home. But when he logs in, depressed, it has far-reaching consequences that may prove to be disastrous for everyone involved. Kaoru x Ryou, Endrance x Haseo


"Infected" by Ryuuzaki Kusakurin

**DISCLAIMER: **Don't own, don't sue.

**Warnings:** Language, yaoi,  
**Characters: **Haseo (Misaki Ryou), Endrance (Ichinose Kaoru), Kuhn (Kasumi Tomonari), Atoli (Kusaka Chigusa), Pi (Saeki Reiko), Yata (Hino Takumi), Sakaki (Tooru Uike), Sakubo (Nakanishi Iori), Azure Kite, Azure Orca, Azure Balmung, Skeith, Taihaku  
**Pairings: **Haseo x Endrance, Kaoru x Ryou

Brought to you courtesy of math class and inattentive substitute teachers of America. I just got around to finishing it, though...

And Sakaki's a slimy... err... well. You get the point.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE - BETRAYAL**

Among other things, he loved the raw energy of battle. It was enthralling, and if one was in a rainy field, the programme would lag just enough for one to see the raindrops as they fell to the ground from the darkened sky. It was something he never grew tired of, but right now, it wasn't what he wanted to see or hear.

Ryou had thrown him out with nary a second glance, probably tired of seeing Kaoru constantly glued to the computer. So here he was, four days later, absently tracing patterns in the water around the glowing tree in Indieglut Lugh. He was tempted to drift to the bottom of the lake once again, as he had when he had lost the thing he had called 'Mia', but...

It was something _Endrance_ would do. It wasn't necessarily something_ Kaoru_ would do. Once, his game persona and his own personality were inseparable, but then Ryou had changed things for him... Ryou had let him experience the world as well as he could in the few minutes he was off the computer.

"I don't want... I don't want to be alone again..." Saku wasn't even here, and had she been, he would have gladly taken her company. If it had been Bo, he probably would have used the boy as an object to hug. If it had been AIDA... He sighed dramatically, not even having to think about it. He knew that if AIDA was to appear in front of him, he would accept it with no complaints whatsoever, just to be rid of this terrible loneliness.

Almost predictably, someone warped in as soon as the thought had finished itself. Endrance didn't even bother to turn; what did he care? He wasn't even able to fool himself - the only character he wanted to see was Haseo.

"And what would an Epitaph User be doing out here? Without his precious Haseo, no less?" _Sakaki_. Endrance inwardly shuddered just thinking about the man; his time spent around Ryou had made him more emotional, it seemed. He refused to answer, although that didn't stop him from cursing at the man mentally. "Not talking, hm?" Sakaki was right behind him, and with a smile that fit his AIDA-possessed character, he kept speaking. "You look... lonely, perhaps. Shall I offer you a cure?" As if on cue, black bubbles made their first appearance. "**Relax**. If you pledge yourself to my cause... you will not **need** to lose your mind. You could be like me, strong enough to challenge the Terror of Death itself!"

"I do not understand your motivation for this," he murmured, still tracing patterns in the mercurial waters of the Lost Ground. "You could have infected me... from your throne..."

"Perhaps," the former Moon Tree guardian replied, appearing to consider it. Even with this new appearance, his cunning mind was still sharp as ever. "I will even allow you to take the 'Terror of Death' down, if you join me." Endrance tilted his head, actually considering the offer. He had no reason to exist, now that Haseo had chosen to live without him. It... it actually hurt him physically, and he didn't know it, but tears were streaming down his face.

"Very well... I will join you... on that condition," he replied, closing his eyes and waiting as the bubbles of the virus neared his PC.

"Excellent! We can control this world together, you and I! With you as the sword, Haseo and his precious avatar will fall before us!" Smiling before more or less planting the virus in the former emperor, Sakaki pictured the priceless look on Haseo's face as he realised that a former ally was the one to take him down.

* * *

His armour had become black where it had once been Mia's favourite shade of purple, and red where it had been gold. The long, skirt-like garment that his PC wore had become black as well, and where his left hand had formerly been was a black claw, almost identical to what Sakaki's hand was now. Almost as an added bonus, the cat-creature that he had called 'Mia' not too long ago had reappeared on his shoulder. Even though he knew it was AIDA, it brought him some amount of comfort where he had thought he would never again feel it... It fit what he was going to do, either way - he was going to take the green-haired PC down with him. The whispers of a nearby Epitaph startled him; the AIDA that was now embedded in his PC was telling him that Magus was near. He chose to ignore it. Kuhn wouldn't look here; he was most likely heading towards the Tri-Edge symbol that led to his favourite area, the Lost Ground. His suspicions were correct; the Steam Gunner passed without a second glance. He was about to sigh in relief when he saw Haseo chasing after him, disentangling his foot from a weak monster and kicking it away, which spared him the trouble of having to actually fight it.

"Pi said there was a pretty strong AIDA signal here, too..." Haseo looked worried. Endrance steeled himself for what was to come, trying to suppress the emotions raging within him instead of letting AIDA take control. 'Mia' meowed quietly, and he reached a gloved hand up, stroking her head. She wanted to fight, as she was an entity created solely from the virus, but for now, **he** was the one in control. He was only using AIDA as a means to an end. Never again would it overtake him.

"Magus says there's something strange around here," Kuhn offered, pointing over in the direction of Endrance, although he didn't know it. "Let's check it out."

"Have fun. _Last_ time 'Magus sensed something weird', it was actually you sensing a pretty girl," Haseo complained loudly. Kaoru shook his head and his PC mimicked the action. It really was just like Kuhn to say something like that just to find more potential girlfriends.

"No, seriously. I'm heading that way." _And what's the use...? They're going to find out at the next G.U. meeting..._ Tugging his flowered hat off of his PC's head, he carelessly threw it off the ledge of the small cliff he was on, half-hoping Haseo would see it and leave him alone. Not only that, of course; if he was going to change something, it was going to start with the flowers that reminded him of the true Mia. She wasn't actually here, and he didn't want to dishonour her memory like this.

"Hey, Kuhn? Wait up a second," Haseo called, spotting the black hat and jogging over to it. "Is this Endrance's...?" Taking in the colour change with wide eyes, he looked up at the cliff where it had probably come from just in time to see a flash of blue hair. "Come on, Kuhn! Endrance! Wait up!" He didn't realise that his fellow Epitaph User was walking down to meet them, if nothing else. Only moments later when they made their way to the top of the plateau, he saw Endrance's right side, not able to see 'Mia' or his infected arm - all he saw was the colour change.

"So, what's with the colour? Never knew you were into black," Kuhn joked.

"Oh, it's nothing... I just felt like... a change..." He tipped his head back and let the false breeze blow through it as he turned, revealing the monster he had truly become.

"Endrance... you..." Haseo fell to his knees as he gaped at what Kaoru had turned his PC into. Red-veined skin of black had taken over his entire left arm and leg, and there were tendrils that had crept up and onto his neck.

"Stay there," Kuhn warned his partner. "Endrance, you don't know what you're doing!"

"Oh, I know _perfectly_ well what I'm doing," he replied coolly, the falsetto dropping enough to be passable as his normal voice. "And you're not going to get in the way..."

"Endrance! Please..." Haseo was begging now, which made Kaoru want to curl inward and cry. He had never wanted this... but he had to do it, now that he'd infected himself and chosen his own path. Ryou no longer needed or wanted him, and so he had no purpose other than what he decided on doing for himself.

"I made up my mind... Haseo. I will follow my own feelings... I'm sorry..." Closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms around himself and called upon Macha. "Macha!"

_I'm here,_ she murmured in his mind, adrift in the strange realm that was uniquely her own.

"Don't hurt them... Especially Haseo..."

_I understand. You're holding it back this time, aren't you?_

"Yes," he replied, knowing that she was speaking of AIDA. "I will not succumb... until my debt to Haseo has been repaid."

_Very well_, the Temptress told him. _If that is your resolve, then it shall be mine as well. _Calling forth rose petals, the purple Avatar prepared to attack. No malicious intent was in it, although she could feel the acute pangs of pain and sorrow behind her user's facade of resolve.

"Come on, come on... I'm... right... here! SKEIIIIIIITH!" The Terror of Death came into existence at his cry, forcibly breaking into the strange realm. Unbeknownst to the players, the avatars were speaking with one another.

_Good day, Temptress_, Skeith offered.

_And to you, Terror of Death_, she replied with the barest hint of a smirk in her voice.

_I thought that you'd have been taken over by now, like it was last time we fought_, Skeith snorted, floating quite calmly.

_He is holding it back_, Macha murmured, longing in her voice as she gestured to Endrance. _It will come at great cost to the both of us. He plans to sacrifice himself to rid our world of the contamination that we used to be controlled by._

_Interesting_. _It looks like those two mean to fight, though._

_They will not be able to purge any of the virus from us though. The only way to do so would be to attack the AIDA within him instead._ Macha shook her cat-like head gently as she 'spoke' to Skeith.

And below them, a battle of the words was already raging.

* * *

"How could you have... I thought... I thought that I meant something to you!"

"You no longer needed me..." he whispered, thoroughly uncomfortable with the discussion. "You said you didn't want to see me again, Ryou."

"I was just angry! I didn't mean for it to end up permanently!" Haseo kept protesting, but was silenced by the sound of a few footsteps as they came toward him.

"Do you... do you mean that, Ryou?" Another step towards him. "Do you honestly mean that... or is it because of what I chose?" Another step, and another, and another... He finally stood before the Rogue.

"Why did you do this to yourself, Kaoru?" the teenager begged, gently running a hand over the blackened skin, feeling the pulsating red veins beneath it. "I can feel," he breathed in wonder, blinking back tears.

"It's this place... the influence of the avatars... I don't understand much, but this is real..." He shuddered when the PC touched the place where the AIDA fringed off and met his regular skin. Jerking away, he watched 'Haseo' warily.

"I asked you a question," the boy replied, his eyes piercing. "Answer me, Kaoru! Why?!"

"I did it... to help you," he offered gently. "I have enough strength... to destroy Sakaki now." Haseo stared at him wide-eyed for a few seconds, and Kaoru let himself relax before the coming storm. The teen took a deep breath, and he inwardly winced, preparing for the angry shouts.

"Damn you!" At least he wasn't _really _being mean... "Damn you, Kaoru! You didn't even think about yourself, did you?" It was only a second later that Ryou's voice cracked and he stumbled towards Endrance. "You're going to end up as a Lost One... like Alkaid... like Shino..." He fell to the invisible ground of the realm, crying. "But... we won't be able to bring you back. You're not invincible, Kaoru... Don't you get it?" He weakly posed the question, and when he recieved no response, he stood up, wiping tears from his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "**Don't you GET it?!**" Slumping forward, into Endrance's waiting arms, he sobbed.

"Yes... I understood what I was doing when I did this... Ryou, look at me," he gently demanded. "My feelings... they haven't changed," he whispered into Haseo's silver hair. "I think... that this is what love is," he murmured. "I don't have long left... and if I stop playing, Sakaki will just find another to replace me. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," he muttered fuzzily. "You'd better come talk to me later though. We've got a lot to say to each other."

"I agree," the blue-haired PC replied, holding Haseo firmly against his blackened armour. "When you wake up..." He leaned close and whispered in his ear from then on. "When you wake up, may I come over?"

"Of course, you idiot," he murmured, grateful for the forgiveness in his boyfriend's voice. "Wait... when I wake up?"

"Sakaki's watching this," he hissed cautiously. "I have to do something... or else he will suspect." Pulling away quickly, he raised his fist, which signalled Macha's attack. Haseo would have blocked, but he trusted Kaoru... and he was glad that he did.

* * *

Haseo and Endrance appeared out of nowhere, glowing with the power of their avatars. Kuhn expected Endrance to keel over, given how strong Haseo was -

Haseo hit the ground and fell with a moan of pain.

"What did you do to him?" Kuhn demanded. His avatar couldn't sense any AIDA in the lifeless form, so that meant... "He's not a Lost One, is he?! You bastard!"

"I had no intention... of putting him in a coma," Endrance replied. "He will awaken soon enough..." Warping out, the former emperor logged out as soon as his feet hit the ground of Lumina Cloth.

Ichinose Kaoru pulled the M2D off of his face, grabbing the spare key Ryou had given him as he made his way towards the exit to his room. He could hear his mother in the kitchen, working to prepare dinner, and decided that he should probably tell her where he was going so she wouldn't worry; he hadn't lived in this house in months, and it was better to let her know that he and Ryou had made up.

"Mother... I'm going back to Ryou's."

"Oh, alright, Kaoru! You can come back any time," she offered, giving her son a hug as he began to walk away. "Be careful, and remember that he loves you, even if he says hurtful things, alright?"

"Yes, mother," he replied evenly, slipping his shoes on and heading for the nearest station for the bullet train. The crisp winter air filled his lungs as he breathed it in, tilting his head back to look at the stars. At his parents' house, he could see the stars, and the ocean. It was something that he always missed when he lived with Ryou. There were other things that made up for it, though - the warmth of someone holding your hand, the love the flowed through the small apartment that was nearly tangible... Ryou's voice, waking him up in the morning long enough to plant a kiss on his lips before he went to school and Kaoru rolled over and went back to sleep... He really _did_ miss Ryou. Continuing in that train of thought, his feet led him to the train station without incident, and as the sun set over Japan, he arrived near Ryou's apartment in Tokyo proper. Walking up the familiar sidewalk, the blonde entered the lobby and opted to climb the stairs rather than take the elevator - Ryou was probably still unconscious, after that last attack...

Four flights of stairs later, Kaoru found himself in front of Ryou's door, number 535. Inserting his key, he opened the door with a faint smile that quickly faded after he had locked the front door once again. Speeding up his pace, Kaoru entered Ryou's room to find the brunet slumped over his computer, M2D still placed firmly across his eyes. Pulling it off and hitting the keys that would log 'Haseo' out of 'The World', he moved Ryou over to his bed with no small amount of effort. He was relatively weak, being a net addict, but he could manage this much. Honestly, Kaoru was proud of himself for it. Gently brushing a few errant strands of hair from Ryou's face, the blonde sat next to his love's prone form and waited for him to awaken.

* * *

"Wha...?" Ryou blinked sleepily, beginning to return to consciousness with a bit of trouble involved. As the world began to clear itself up, he noticed the mop of blonde hair that was next to him, and he didn't even have to think to know who it was. "Kaoru, love, wake up," he murmured, like he did when he was waking the _hikikomori_ up in the mornings. When Kaoru's dark eyes opened, he reached down and kissed him tenderly. "We need to talk."

"I know," he replied, still drifting between the world of dreams and reality. "Give me a minute or so... alright?" He stood up and stretched, managing to remind Ryou of a cat and he did every single time. Walking towards the bathroom, he splashed water on his face, returning with a few strands of wet hair framing his sleepy visage.

"Why did you do it, Kaoru?"

"I needed to protect you, even if you wouldn't let me," the twenty-year-old explained, idly running his fingers over ridges in the blanket covering the bed. "I knew that Sakaki would trust me... He thinks that I would never betray you publicly unless I meant it." _Which would usually be true_, he mentally added.

"I can take care of myself, and you know it," Ryou protested, leaning forward and into the man's personal space.

It's not done yet… Ideas are nice, too, but I think I've got this particular story together.


End file.
